Hopper's Women, by Barbara Crooker

High Noon, by Edward Hopper (USA). 1949.

Hopper's Women

are always alone, even if someone
else is in the room, even if they’re leaning
at the counter of an all-night diner.  This woman
is standing in the open mouth of her doorway
as if it were the prow of an ocean liner,
ready to embark on a  long voyage. Her dress
and lips part in anticipation.  The sun pounds
down, a relentless spotlight, but she is unblinking
in its glare, stares off in the middle distance.
Triangular shadows slice the air; rough waters
ahead.  The curtain of the sky rises.  Everything
is about to begin.

Barbara Crooker

This poem first appeared in Barbara Crooker's book, More (C&R Press).

Barbara Crooker is the author of nine books of poetry; Les Fauves is the most recent.  Her work has appeared in many anthologies, including The Bedford Introduction to Literature, Commonwealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania, The Poetry of Presence and Nasty Women: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse.  www.barbaracrooker.com

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